


I Just Can't Wait to be King

by JaniceLikesStuff (janiceprouvaire), Sydlee3



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, tags characters and ships to be added as they appear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:25:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janiceprouvaire/pseuds/JaniceLikesStuff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sydlee3/pseuds/Sydlee3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sugawara Koushi grew up living in luxury. That was one of the perks of being a prince. When his mother and step-father are assassinated, however, he is forced to run away from his comfortable life among the elite in order to stay alive and safe. After learning of his brother's coronation at a much-too-early age, he decides, along with his friends, both old and new, to retake the kingdom from its corrupt new ruler. </p><p>HQ fantasy AU because why not? Very DaiSuga-centric, but it'll eventually have a lot of the characters. Update schedule should be about every three weeks. Hope you enjoy!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“Daichi.” Suga knew that whining was childish, but he hoped that maybe this time it’d actually work.

The brunette, however, ignored him, and simply continued to pull the prince through the stone corridors of the castle.

“Daichi, please. Can we stop?”

Yet again, there was no reply.

“Daichi!” Sugawara yelled, jerking his arm out of his bodyguard’s calloused hand. He held it close to his chest, glaring softly at the brunette. Daichi spun on his heel so that he was face to face with the young prince.

“What is it, Prince? If you forgot your handkerchief, you’re going to have to do with out. We need to go - now.”

“Daichi, I… I can’t. I can’t leave -”

“Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t! I can’t leave Tobio -”

“Yes, you can, Your Highness. Please, you know he’s a smart kid. He can get by on his own,” he said, trying to rationalize the situation.

“That’s just it, though. He’s a kid. And he just watched two more parents die. Daichi, I can’t leave him to go through that kind of pain again, and -”

“And what? There’s no way that that chamberpot of an advisor is going to do anything to him. He’s too valuable. You, on the other hand…” Daichi reached for Suga’s hand.

Suga pulled his hand closer to his chest, genuine hurt and anger marring his features. “What? I’m expendable? I’m useless? It doesn’t matter. He has no reason to hurt me, so why can’t I stay and take care of Tobio?” Suga was almost in tears at this point, and that was disregarding the insinuation that he was expendable coming from one of the few people that he actually trusted.

“He’ll be alright. I promise. He knows how to get through this. I swear, if you leave now, we can get you back here, and we can retake the kingdom. I don’t know if you’ll be able to do that if you don’t leave now, though. Come on, Prince.” The exasperation in his tone was evident, but it was still rather hopeful.

“I’ll help from back here. You go on, do whatever you were going to do, and I’ll be a spy! A double agent! Can’t I be more useful that way?”

“How will you let me know what’s happening? What happens when you get caught? Your Highness, I’m sorry. I don’t want to leave him alone either, but no one is going to hurt Tobio. They have no reason to kill you, but at the moment, they don’t have much of a reason to keep you alive either. There’s no point in risking it.”

“Yes, there is.” The silent “You know he needs me.” lingered in the air.

“Please, Prince. We need to go, before we get caught. If we don’t get you out of here now, it’s game over. Do you know how long this plan has been in the works?”

“No,” Suga shot back, “and I don’t care. I can’t leave my kid brother here with that freaky advisor and his nasty assistant. That would be game over.”

“Listen, I know you love your brother, but doesn’t the future of this country matter just as much?” Daichi tapped his foot impatiently. A few more minutes of this, and they would lose their already miniscule window of opportunity.

“Fine,” Suga huffed, “But first chance we get, we’re coming back, and we’re getting him out of here.”

Daichi chuckled nervously. “Great, now let’s get going.”

Suga reached his hand out again, and Daichi grabbed it willingly. It was kind of gross and sweaty, but because of Daichi’s uncharacteristically high anxiety, he was willing to cut him some slack.

It seemed that Daichi actually knew his way around the castle better than Suga, and that was saying something. Daichi had been with him for a while, as the guard assigned to him, but he hadn’t been there for a fraction of the time that Suga had.

But still they turned through corridor after corridor, until they reached... the servant’s quarters?

“Daichi?” Suga whispered. “Why are we in the servant’s quarters?”

“It’s the least noticeable way out. Everyone just lets the servants go about their business, so no one cares much about who or what goes in or out.” Daichi pulled Suga through another door, and then the two were outside.

The land surrounding the castle was breathtaking. The grass was a deep emerald that felt unbelievably soft against their bare skin. Paths were carved through it, covered in large, flat stones whose different shades of brown and gray contrasted perfectly against the grass. Golden dandelions were scattered through the green expanse. Suga couldn’t help but smile as memories of picking dandelions and making wishes on them with Tobio filled his mind’s eye.

The appearance of a light across the courtyard distracted him, however.

“That’s them, then?”

“Yeah. Now that I’m out here, I realize exactly how much time you wasted. Come on, let’s go.”

Daichi took Suga’s hand again and began to pull him across the lawn, towards the light. As the two got closer, three figures became apparent - one tall, one short, and one a happy medium. A very happy medium. As well as a very happy short. The third figure was more of an awkward tall.

“We’re here,” Daichi said, releasing Suga’s hand.

The short one and the medium one were both playing with fire - literally. The shorter one’s hair was spiked up like a dragon’s crest, and the medium one was nearly bald. However, he did have pointy teeth, and he was breathing actual flames, leading Suga to believe that if anyone was the dragon, it was him.

Meanwhile, the third guy, the tall (and kind of round), one, was looking on nervously, and trying to get the other two to cut it out. It didn’t seem to be having much effect, though, because he was stuttering and his voice was about as loud as a mouse’s.

“OI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Daichi’s yelling terrified even Suga for a second, and he watched as all three figures froze. Then, the small and medium boys ran up to Daichi, smiling expectantly.

“Daichi! Is it finally time to leave?”

Daichi nodded, and shot a pointed look in Suga’s direction. “It took forever, but I finally got Suga to move.”

Suga only pouted. "I’m attached to Tobio, alright?”

The middle one shrugged. “Well, we don’t have a lot of time, but we should introduce ourselves real quick. My name is Tanaka. This kid,” (said kid looked like he was about to punch Tanaka in the nuts), “Is Nishinoya - you can call him Noya - and this reeeally tall toddler is Asahi.”

Once again, Daichi took hold of Suga’s hand and started dragging him towards the ten foot tall wall at the end of the courtyard, and nodded to the other three.

Tanaka, in a feat of superhuman strength, leaped over the stone wall, and Daichi knelt down, allowing Suga to sit on his shoulders. He stood carefully, and Tanaka pulled the grey-haired prince up the rest of the way. Asahi and Noya stood firm, watching the rear. As soon as he saw that Suga was safely on top of the wall, he began to scale it himself, gripping the stones and making use of the uneven ridges. Before he made it even halfway, however, a soldier watching a part of the wall further down called out his name.

Daichi hissed, but continued to pull himself up and over the wall. He made it to the top, just in time to see Noya deliver a stunning blow to the guard. Next to him, Asahi frowned, and asked him to stop with parental concern stark on his face.

Nishinoya turned around for a moment and waved at Daichi. “Don’t worry! We’ll take care of things!” Asahi yelled. Noya shot Daichi a prizewinning smile, then whipped one of his legs behind the guard, taking him down.

Sighing, Daichi pushed Suga down the wall, where he landed in Tanaka’s arms, bridal style.

Tanaka grunted, and nearly dropped the prince. “Wow, kid. You’re kinda heavy.”

Suga blushed and jumped out of his arms as quickly as possible.

Then, Daichi dropped as well, landing gracefully next to Tanaka. He gritted his teeth, and the corner of his lips pulled into a frown. “Let’s go. We have to leave without them now.”

Suga frowned as well. “Listen, Daichi, I’m really sorry. I-”

“Please, Prince. Don’t. Not now,” he sighed. He looked Suga in the eyes, and his eyes were filled with hurt. “Just... let’s keep moving, okay?”

Suga nodded. Tanaka set him down, and the three of them ran off into the woods surrounding the castle, Suga trying not to trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is just the first chapter, so some things need to be established. Namely, our update schedule. There should be a new chapter every three weeks, and we're going to try to update on Wednesdays. I'm not sure how many of you are reading our other fic, (And So History Repeats Itself), but we've been working on this as a side project in between doing that, and so we're already a bit in. At any rate, please comment, because comments are how we judge how good of a job we're doing, and they serve as inspiration to write more!


	2. The Morning Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story starts in earnest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we actually updated on schedule haha.

The three of them had been in the woods for about half an hour, jogging silently. Suga had nearly tripped four times, and had actually fallen into Daichi twice. Tanaka was clearly annoyed, but it was painstakingly obvious that he was trying to keep his anger under control.

Finally, after Suga nearly fell a fifth time, he snapped.

“Daichi! What kind of bullshit is this? I was totally okay with dragging this asshole along, and you did tell me that he wasn’t experienced at all, but really? We left Noya and Asahi! For all we know, they might be tortured for information, since we just, ya know, ran away with a prince! What the hell?”

Daichi ignored him, simply moving forward, and Suga did his best to follow his example, but Tanaka did not look like he was going to let the issue drop.

Suga decided, against every ounce of self preservation that he had telling him not to do what he was about to do, to tell the bald male, “Tanaka, why don’t you take a moment to calm down. Shouting isn’t going to fix anything.”

Much to his surprise, Tanaka listened to him, and with a gruff nodded walked away, muttering to himself.

Suga grabbed Daichi’s shoulders, even though the latter had his eyes firmly fixed on the ground. “Daichi, what happened?”

Daichi, to his credit, remained calm, pulling his eyes up from the ground to meet Suga’s in an expression that was, in a word, terrifying. His dark brown eyes were swirling with anger and sadness roiling just beneath the calm he was just barely keeping it together.

Suga almost stepped back, but remained, hardening his own gaze to match Daichi’s hard look of disappointment.

Daichi grit his teeth and took a deep breath before speaking. “I’m kind of angry, Your Highness. We had a plan, something that’s been in the works for years. Those two were pretty important, and not just to me, to the future of the country! Tanaka is pretty powerful, but those two are a real power couple. And now, they aren’t here, because you just had to drag your heels!”

Suga frowned, but waited until Daichi finished. Then, with a sigh, he grabbed Daichi’s arm once again. He felt it tense under at his touch, but he continued to keep his hand where it was. “I’m sorry. I... I know your friends mean a lot to you, and that you have a mission. I apologize, and I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you, I promise. I... I’ll go.” Suga smiled softly, “It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

Daichi exhaled, before putting his hand on Suga’s. “I don’t want to guilt you into this. If you really can’t handle it, we’ll go back.”

Suga shook his head, his grip on Daichi’s arm tightening. “No. I’m not going to be a stubborn child. I want to help this country, and if that means leaving Tobio behind and going with you, then I can handle it.”

“Are you sure? From this point on, you can’t turn back.”

Suga nodded. “I’m sure. Wherever I need to be, I’ll go.”

Daichi was still for a moment, but then he broke into a fit of laughter, gradually rising in pitch and volume until he could barely stand. Finally, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, he smiled at Suga. “You sent Tanaka away to tell me that? Prince, you worry far too much about other people, and not nearly enough about yourself.”

Suga smiled softly, glad that Daichi didn’t seem to be angry with him anymore. He turned back to the clearing, and almost stepped in a pile of hissing embers. “Daichi?”

“Yes?”

“I’m glad you don’t seem to be too mad at me anymore, but I think you need to have a chat with Tanaka.”

 

* * *

 

One hour and a moderately subdued Tanaka later, the three of them were well on their way to a nearby village.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty scary place. There’s this one tavern that everyone goes to, and it’s run by a wicked succubus!” Tanaka was practically shrieking, and it was starting to get on Suga’s nerves, but he was glad that Tanaka had warmed up to him.

“Tanaka,” Daichi scolded, “you only met her once, and that’s my mom you’re talking about.”

Suga burst out laughing. “I didn’t know you had a mom. Well I mean, I know you had a mom, but... Nevermind. What’s her name?”

“Midori,” Daichi muttered, “She’s Azumane Midori.”

Suga nodded. “I’m sure you know all about my mom! Her name was Hotaru, and-”

Tanaka smirked. “Everyone and their brother knows about the queen. Speaking of royalty... what should we call you? I mean Prince Sugawara Koushi would definitely attract attention...”

“Just Suga is fine.”

Tanaka nodded, and reached out to shake hands. Suga accepted, and took the calloused and wiry hand in his. Tanaka’s eyes widened the second they touched, and he gasped, pure shock on his face. “You’re hands are so soft! They’re so round and not rough and shit! How’d you get them like this?”

Suga blushed again, and managed to stutter out, “I, well, I um-”

“Oi, Tanaka, quit being rude.” Daichi’s tone was enough to silence the bald kid, who shrugged and dropped the hand like a dead fish.

They walked in awkward silence for a few minutes before Suga started a conversation again. “I’m pretty excited though! I didn’t get to leave the castle at all, and I can’t wait to see an actual real village.”

“It’s not that exciting,” Daichi replied, “It’s usually just dirt and people who are starving, drunk, unemployed, homeless, orphans, or some sort of weird combination.”

Suga gasped. “What do you mean?”

Daichi shrugged. “The economy is a disaster. Attacks happen all the time, and no one can do anything about it.”

“What do you mean? What are the knights for?” Suga was shocked to only find out about this now, and even then he didn’t totally believe Daichi.  

“The Knights are causing a lot of the problems, actually.” Tanaka replied, face more passive than usual.

Suga looked like he was going to say something, but Daichi cut him off with a wave of his hand. “We’re about to enter town. Don’t discuss this stuff in public. We should be fine, but... things can always get dangerous.”

 

* * *

 

The trio walked through almost the entire town, leaving Suga somewhat breathless. Daichi’s description of villages was fairly accurate, and he didn’t sense any real aura of happiness. However, the scent of bad alcohol was starting to sting his nose as the three continued in that direction.

Finally, they reached an inn. It had a faded wooden sign over it, reading "The Morning Sun".

Suga pushed open the door, almost expecting to walk in on some sort of cult gathering, but it was just... a woman?

Her eyes widened the second she saw Suga, and lit up when she caught sight of Daichi. At the sight of Tanaka, the smile dimmed, but it was still there. She was tall, and kind of pleasantly plump, with long chocolatey brown hair tied in a right bun. She almost looked like... “Hey... Are you Asahi’s mom?”

Her already radiant smile brightened further. “You know my son? How is he? I don’t get to hear about him a lot in the castle...” She trailed off, her eyes looking to someplace that wasn’t there.

“Um, yes? I just met him.”

She snapped back to the present, and then, rushed out of the door and nearly tackling Daichi into a hug. Daichi blushed, and tried to free himself, but it was in vain.

When she finally released him, she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the inn. Suga and Tanaka followed, weaving through the crowds of people, drunk, sober, and a mix of both even at this rather early hour.

She led them to a closet, and pulled out a broom, which she promptly handed to Tanaka. “Why don’t you get to work, while I chat with these two.”

Tanaka rolled his eyes, but complied, snatching the broom out of her hands and getting to work. Suga looked around the room, and taking in all of the new sights. The only people who really stuck out to him were a tall blond in a complete set of armor, and a smaller boy in loose robes.

However, Mrs. Azumane walked away, and Daichi and Suga followed her into one of the backrooms, where she sat them down and demanded that they tell her everything. There was only a curtain dividing them from the rest of the inn, but Daichi seemed at ease here, even if Suga didn’t...

“Well, first off, Asahi is fine, but he’s still at the castle...” Daichi trailed off, “But Noya - our friend - is with him, so nothing bad is going to happen, I promise.”

With a sigh of relief and a nod from Mrs. Azumane, he continued. “We can’t stay here long. You see, we’re kind of on the run.”

Mrs. Azumane narrowed her eyebrows, and her gaze sharpened, but she nodded again.

“And on top of that, we’re running away with... um… well… this is the prince.”

Mrs. Azumane gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. “I’m terribly sorry your highness.” She got down on her knees in front of Suga, placing her hands to the ground. “I apologize for my rudeness. I hope that my conduct does not r-”

“Mrs. Azumane? You don’t need to be so formal. Please, just call me Suga. I’m trying to lay low here.”

She stood up. “Of course, Your Hi- Suga." The woman smiled softly. "You should probably head out tomorrow, but for tonight you can stay here. Make yourselves at home! I'll leave you and your boyfriend to it, then, Daichi."

"He's not - ugh..." Daichi said, putting his face in his hands. Suga couldn't help but giggle, especially when he caught Daichi’s blush, which had spread quite a way down his neck and ears.

Suga walked over to a vacant table and sat down, patting the seat next to him expectantly. Daichi sighed, but slid into the chair next to him. “So,” Suga asked, “what do people order here?”

Daichi shrugged. “Beer. Ale. Mead.”

“Okay, anything that isn’t alcohol?”

“Water,” Daichi smirked, “If you’re lucky.”

Suga just shook his head.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the blond kid with glasses from earlier and kid in too-large robes slid into the chairs across from them.

“Um... Can we help you?” Suga offered, diplomatically.

The blond nodded. “What business do you have with the prince?”

“Tsukki! Don’t be so blunt... I’m sorry, you two. I’m Yamaguchi and this is Tsukishima.” Yamaguchi stuck out his hand, and Suga shook it graciously.

“This is Daichi, and my name is Suga. Nice to meet you!” Suga responded, a small smile gracing his face.

Daichi and Tsukishima only stared each other down from across the table, killing any real sociable mood. It was a sight to behold; a well built brunet in armor facing down an equally menacing blond also in armor. The tension was palpable, and both of them made nearly imperceptible shifts bringing their hands closer to their weapons.

“I’ll ask again,” Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed, “what business do you have with the prince?”

Suga shrugged. “I am the prince.”

Yamaguchi gasped and Tsukishima recoiled slightly, instantly moving into an offensive position, before Yamaguchi put his hand on his arm.

Daichi placed a hand on his sword as well. “What of it? Also, Suga, be more careful!”

“How?” Yamaguchi whispered, dazedly, and then snapped to attention when he realized he’d said it out loud. “I mean, I don’t understand. It’s been a long time since I was up to date with royal politics.”

Suga put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s fine. No worries. Long story short, my mom married into this kingdom after my dad died, so I’m a prince. I’m sorry if you were looking for Tobio. Daichi is one of my bodyguards. We have one more around here somewhere... Anyways, I probably shouldn’t have told you guys about the royalty thing...” Suga trailed off.

Daichi smacked the back of his head. “No shit. Would you guys mind not being super vocal about that? He really shouldn’t have told you...”

Yamaguchi nodded. “No problem! Right, Tsukki?”

Tsukishima looked a lot more hesitant, but nodded anyways.

Yamaguchi piped up again. “You told us about you, but you don’t know anything about us! I’m a magic healer, and Tsukki saved me a while back. He used to be a soldier, but he got discharged because he got hit in the leg... But we’ve been together ever since.” Yamaguchi finished with a smile, and Tsukishima had his eyes focused on his companion.

Suga felt something stir in his chest, and he instantly felt for the duo. After all, Yamaguchi seemed nice enough, and Tsukishima couldn’t be too horrible if he’d rescued him.

“Well,” Daichi cut in, “What did you want with Suga?”

Tsukishima shrugged. “There’s someone near the other prince, Tobio was it? Well, I want him dead.”

Yamaguchi nodded in affirmation.

“What a coincidence,” Daichi nodded, a coy half smile curling on his lips, “There’s someone up top we need to take care of as well.”

“Hey!” Suga smiled as the idea hit him. “Would you like to join us?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, on that note, the next chapter will be up on the 29th. Comments are always appreciated, and thank you for reading!


	3. Sugawara Koushi is Too Damn Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We really suck this is really late  
> Sorry we haven't been posting!! School's been super stressful for the both of us, and we haven't been able to write nearly as much as we've wanted to.  
> (at all. we haven't been able to write at all.)  
> Anyway, here's the next chapter of this. Hopefully we'll post the next next chapter on time? And post more of ASHRI? wow we really suck sorry guys :/  
> we promise that we love you all really

The next morning, Suga woke up surprisingly well rested. He hadn’t expected to be able to rest on the uncomfortable bed, (nothing like the one in his private quarters), and while he was a little stiff, he felt ready to face the day.

He sat up and looked to his right. Daichi’s bed was already made, and the nightclothes he had borrowed the night before were folded neatly at the top.

Suga stretched, marveling at how meticulous his bodyguard was, and shuffled towards the downstairs in search of him, trying to remember the events of yesterday. He ran into Daichi, fully dressed and carrying a tray, just as he was about to leave the room, both of them recoiling in surprise.

“Pr-”

”Dai-”

Both of them burst into smiles. “I see you’re finally awake.”

Suga nodded. Daichi led him back inside the room, and sitting him down on his bed, and walking over to make Suga’s.

“Wait,” Suga started, “can you teach me?”

Daichi’s eyebrows rose. “Teach you... to make a bed?”

Suga nodded. “If I’m trying to keep my status hidden, I have to be able to do things, right?”

Daichi shrugged. “Sure. So you pull up the sheets like so,” He demonstrated, and proceeded to tuck all of the blankets into bed, and fluff up the pillow. “and then tuck the blankets in, fluff the pillow, and you’re done.” When he finished, Suga’s bed looked identical to his, with all of the sheets smooth and crisp, and it looked incredibly comfortable.

Then, Daichi undid all of his work, and rumpled the sheets again into much the same position they’d been in before. “Your turn.”

Suga nodded, and managed to do a decent job. It didn’t look as nice as Daichi’s, and there were wrinkles in the sheets and folds in the fabric, but Daichi smiled at him nonetheless. “Not bad for a first try.”

The praise was small, but it was something, and Suga felt a little more confident in his skills.

“Prince?” Daichi asked.

Suga sighed, wishing that his companion would just use his name, but responded anyways. “Yes?”

“You should probably eat your breakfast. It’s going to get cold.”

Suga looked at the tray. There were steaming eggs in a bowl, and a small piece of chicken on rice. It smelled fantastic, and Suga devoured it.

When he was finished, Daichi brought him a new set of clothes. While he’d been wearing one of more casual outfits, (White long sleeved shirt and vest with long tweed pants), it was still too fancy for him to go undercover. He pulled out a more natural muslin shirt, which was scratchy, with a leathery vest along with some loose cotton pants and a leather belt. There was also a more comfortable pair of boots, and he slipped into them with ease, as though they had been broken in already. Then, Daichi handed him one of his rapiers, which in the chase yesterday, he had forgotten all about.

“I hope you’ll forgive me, but I had a set of clothes taken from your wardrobe, and moved here a few months ago.”

Suga chuckled. “It’s fine.” The “You don’t need to be so formal about it.” was implied, but left unsaid.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Then, Daichi laughed.

“I guess I should give you some privacy, shouldn’t I?” He stepped into the hallway, where he couldn’t help but wince at himself.

After getting dressed, Suga went out into the hall. Daichi lazily leaned on the wall next to their door. Suga smiled at him. “We should go downstairs, shouldn’t we? I’m sure Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are waiting for us.”

The two walked through the hallway to the stairs, neither knowing what to say to the other. Suga opened his mouth multiple times, but lost his train of thought each time.

By the time they had reached the bottom of the stairs, they had spotted Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, who were sitting at a table, not speaking, but rather than it being awkward, they simply seemed content with each other’s company.

“Morning, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi!” Suga called to them, and their heads snapped around. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow, but Yamaguchi smiled and waved back.

Tanaka ran over to join them. “Hey, guys? I think...”

Mrs. Azumane came up behind him, and slung her arm around his shoulders. “Is it alright if I borrow this one?”

Daichi snickered, and agreed. “Sure. It’ll keep him out of trouble, and he can wait for Asahi and Noya here.”

Mrs. Azumane squeezed all of them into the table that had, until a few minutes ago, just held Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and started to talk. “Daichi told me that all of you are heading out today, right? Discounting Tanaka, of course. I’ve packed you some bags for the road, especially for you, Suga. There’s food and some bedding and some clothes, but I have to apologize, since I don’t have any money to spare.”

Daichi nodded. “It’s already more than enough. Thank you so much, for all of your kindness.”

The smile she returned was wistful. “Anything for my boy.” She pulled him up, and into a bone crushing hug. In turn, she hugged all of them, even Tsukishima, who looked incredibly uncomfortable, but couldn’t refuse.

The group headed out, bags with them into the forest on the other side of the inn. Daichi’s face was longer than usual, wistful and worn. It took all that Suga had to stop himself from reaching out to grab his hand, to comfort him. There was a long walk until the next town, and he didn’t want to make anything too awkward.

In fact, the whole not awkward thing was going pretty well, until Tsukishima tripped.  The blond landed on his face, nearly shattering his glasses. As he was brushing dirt and leaves off of his armor, whatever he had tripped over rolled over. Daichi moved protectively in front of Suga, and Yamaguchi pointed his staff at the thing, prodding it gently.

Suga pushed past Daichi, and rolled it over, to find that it was a human boy. He had bright orange hair, dulled by dirt and leaves, and a small, agile frame. Suga’s eyes widened in shock. Although the sun had only just risen, most people were awake by now. “We should wait for him to wake up.”

Daichi frowned. “I think we need to keep moving.” Tsukishima nodded, and Yamaguchi just shrugged.

Suga tried to pick him up, and failed miserably, dropping the boy to the ground. The second attempt, however, worked, and he pulled the child onto his back. He could see that the kid had a knife, not very well hidden, but before he could say anything, Daichi simply took it off of his scabbard, and the four young adults continued to walk. Yamaguchi watched him, suspicion clouding his features, and Tsukishima said nothing, though he seemed to find the entire exchange bizarre. Suga continued to carry the child, but was panting in minutes, never having had to carry any sort of weight before, let alone one this heavy. Daichi took pity on Suga and the boy quickly, taking the redhead after less than a mile.

After only a few minutes on Daichi’s back, the kid jerked, yelling, “GWAH!” and flew off of Daichi, smacking into a tree.

Tsukishima smirked, and Yamaguchi tried to stifle a giggle, but Daichi and Suga rushed to his side nearly instantaneously. “Are you alright?”

The boy looked around, amber eyes wide with panic, and reached for his knife. When it wasn’t there, his face grew dark and his eyebrows narrowed. He jumped at Suga, and would have bowled him over easily if Daichi hadn’t tackled him midair and pinned him down.

“Who are you? Where am I? Where’s my knife? What do you want?”

The questions came in rapid succession, and Suga raised both of his hands in a defensive gesture. “One question at a time, please! My name is Suga, and this guy sitting on top of you is Daichi, the blond is Tsukishima, and his friend is Yamaguchi. We’re on a path in the forest right now. Daichi has your knife, and we don’t really want anything from you. What is your name?

The smaller boy stopped wriggling. “My name's Hinata Shouyou, and can I have my knife back?”

“That’s for Daichi to decide, I guess.”

“Why do you need it?”

The boy shrugged. “I need to defend myself. How am I supposed to do that if I don’t have a weapon?”

Suga glanced at the brunette. “He’s right, you know.”

“How do we know he’s not going to hurt you?”

Hinata shrugged again. “Why would I? I mean, if you’re not gonna kill me, and you’re not part of a mission, so I don’t really have any reason to kill you.”

“Mission?” Suga raised one eyebrow.

“Yup! I’m an assassin!” Hinata grinned and thrust his thumb at his chest.

Daichi eyed Suga. “So,” he said, slowly and carefully placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Are you on a mission right now?”

“No,” Hinata said. “I actually just came back from one in a neighboring kingdom.”

“Oh, and how did that go?”

“Well. It wasn’t a hard job - in and out, just like that .”

“How come you’re so comfortable telling us all of this?”

Hinata paused. “I guess I trust you guys. I mean, you took my knife, but you haven’t tried to like, actually hurt me. That was the tree’s fault!” He broke into a heartwarming grin, and Suga decided to trust him, in spite of his profession.

“So,” Suga began. “Where exactly do you live?”

Hinata’s face clouded a bit, and he seemed lost in thought. “A ways away. I didn’t want me to take this job because it was so far, but I need the money and it was easy.”

Nodding, Suga asked another question. “Where are you going?”

Hinata shrugged. “I don’t know. I have some time to kill, and I’m sort of looking for odd jobs or whatever on my way back.”

Daichi stepped closer to Hinata, who in turn backed up a little, into yet another tree. He stuck out Hinata’s knife with the hilt in his direction, and the smaller boy took it gratefully, stashing it in his scabbard. “So,” Daichi began, “I think you should be-”

“Come with us!” Suga smiled invitingly in Hinata’s direction, hoping that it persuaded the orange haired kid to join them.

“Wha- No.” Daichi spluttered, glare hardening, until Suga turned up the puppy eyes to maximum power. He caved, and the tension leaked out of his body. “Sure. Hinata, would you like to join us?”

“Sure! Maybe I can get a job on the way!” Hinata’s round eyes sparkled at the thought of independence.

“I’m sure you will.” Suga ruffled his hair affectionately. It was dirty and coated in mud, but he tried not to let it bother him. He glanced at Daichi, with eyes that said, “This kid won’t ever have to worry about money again.”

Daichi sighed and rolled his eyes, clapping Hinata gently on the back.

“Are we finally moving?” Tsukishima deadpanned, and Yamaguchi snickered.

“Mmhm!”

 

* * *

 

They were a ways through the forest when they hit a path. Hinata had been telling them all about his home, and Tsukishima was more than through with hearing stories of his past jobs, and the small town he grew up in, with his best friends Izumi and Kouji.

Yamaguchi stopped, footsteps faltering. Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, and Yamaguchi shook his head. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Wait, are you talking about that carriage coming up behind us?” Hinata asked, eyes wide and innocent.

Daichi shivered, as though an invisible chill had gone down his back. “I thought there was something up.”

Then, everyone else, including Suga, heard the splattering of pebbles on the path being knocked out of alignment, and the rhythmic turning of wagon wheels. Wagon wheels that were moving very quickly.

“Shit!” Daichi yelled, and pushed Suga into the bushes, just as the rampaging carriage made its way around the bend.

Hinata nearly flew into a tree, and Yamaguchi and Tsukishima simply stood a little out of the way.

Daichi had landed on top of Suga, pinning him to the ground. Their faces were almost touching, and Suga could smell the oil Daichi used to keep the leather on his armor soft. He could also feel said armor digging into his chest, and in a move that would normally be considered immoral, he memorized the feeling of Daichi pressed up against him. It seemed that Daichi was doing the same.

For a moment, the two of them lay like that, and then Suga started to blush, (curse his fair skin). That was Daichi’s cue to get off of him, and even though he was blushing as well he managed to splutter out some half decent apologies.

“Daichi. It’s fine.” Suga said, firmly.

Daichi nodded. “Yes, Prince.” He whispered softly.

“Why did you put me in these clothes if you were just going to do that?”

What had been a light pink dusting on Daichi’s cheeks erupted into a full blown crimson splash across his face and neck. “I... I’m sorry, Prince. I didn’t think of that. I did what I did on instinct.”

Suga chuckled. “Those were some... interesting instincts.” He couldn’t help but tease Daichi, and even though neither of them thought it possible, their respective blushes deepened.

Hinata ruined the moment by running over to Suga and Daichi and asking if they were okay and did it hurt because when Daichi tackled me it hurt do you just have higher tolerance for pain?

Tsukishima just grumbled something, and Yamaguchi nodded, barely containing a giggle. They set out again, this time listening more closely for carriages.


	4. Water, Herbs, and a Tiny Bit More Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We stink we're sorry we uploaded the wrong chapter. Thank you, Sasha, for pointing that out!!
> 
> Anyway, here's the real chapter four!

Suga was not athletic by nature. He’d rather curl up with a book and his cat, Anastasia, and maybe a cup of whatever kind of sweet beverage the kitchen cooked up.

Needless to say, he was not accustomed to this much walking, and despite wearing his most comfortable pair of boots, his feet were killing him.

With every step, he could feel his feet pinching, and he could feel Daichi watching him, having the group stop every once in awhile, and trying to pretend it was for reasons other than Suga’s comfort.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were content to be silent, simply listening to Hinata babble on about a variety of topics. Suga tried to focus on what the ginger haired assassin was saying, more to distract himself from the pain from actual interest, but there were still lulls and silences. Daichi, on the other hand, had an unreadable expression on his face, and seemed to be thinking something over in great detail. But, it wasn’t Suga’s place to pry, so he tried to relax and enjoy the atmosphere that the group had assembled.

The faint sounds of running water reached the five boys, and Hinata brightened up and took off in search of its source. Daichi yelled for him to wait up, but didn’t start to chase after him until Suga took off as well, (even though it was more of an awkward limp-run).

Tsukishima shrugged, and he and Yamaguchi kept walking at a regular pace, but Yamaguchi looked a little bit uncomfortable.

When Suga and Daichi caught up, (Suga tried not to let on that this was the most intense physical activity that he’d done in years). Hinata was standing in a clearing, with a roaring river cutting clean through it. There were two girls across the river, one tall, slim, and dark haired, and the other smaller, blonde, and chubby. The dark haired girl wore dark and form fitting clothing, and her hair was in a braid, and she had several knives strapped to her body. The blonde was in a light and flowy shirt with a knee length cornflower blue skirt, and both were wearing flower crowns. The blonde waved, and started to run over, but the dark haired girl only frowned slightly.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi arrived a few moments later, just in time to hear Daichi yell at the girl.

“WAIT!” He shouted, reaching out his hands in a stopping gesture, “The ground isn’t st-”

The girl had backed away, but it was too late, and the ground was starting to crumble under her feet. She shrieked, and tried to jump back to safe ground, and the other girl tried to save her, but the blonde still took a plunge into the roaring waters beneath.

The dark haired girl locked eyes with Daichi, and she had to yell to be heard over the rushing current, “She can’t swim!”

Daichi sighed, before shoving Suga back about ten feet and tearing off his sword, throwing it to the ground. Then, he dove in after the smaller girl somewhat gracefully. However, both of them were floating rapidly downstream.

“Suga, take them and go back to the inn!”

“Okay! Stay safe!” It pained Suga to see him go, and to have to backtrack on their mission, but he didn’t see another option.

He looked over to see Hinata, whose eyes were fixed on the dark haired woman. He had a look of recognition, and he tried to get her attention, even though her eyes still seemed to be following Daichi and the blonde girl.

“Kiyoko-nee! Kiyoko-nee! Over here, Kiyoko-nee! It’s me! Hinata, remember?”

Eventually she looked over, and she nodded at him, somewhat stiff. Then, she backed up a bit, took a running start, and bridged the fifteen foot gap in a graceful leap, landing on her toes. Her flower crown, which upon closer investigation was made of purple and white clovers, only slipped a little bit.

“Hello again, Hinata. I haven’t seen you in a while.” She subtly put her hand on her knife, and Suga could feel Yamaguchi tense behind him, while Tsukishima placed his own hand on his sword.

Hinata nodded vigorously. “What have you been up to, Kiyoko-nee?”

She shrugged, face neutral. “Jobs. Yachi joined me, and now I don’t do that kind of work anymore.”

Hinata smiled at her. “How did you meet... Yachi was it?”

Kiyoko nodded. “It’s kind of a long story. But where exactly did that tall man say to meet up?”

“Oh, you mean Daichi? That’s his name, and I’m Suga. These two over here are Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, and you already seem to know Hinata.” Suga smiled in a way that he hoped was comforting.

“I see. My name is Shimizu Kiyoko, and the girl who was washed down the river is named Yachi Hitoka. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.” Kiyoko’s face was still passive, but at least she had taken her hand off of her knife.

Hinata bounced up and down. “Kiyoko-nee, are you coming with us? I can’t wait! This is going to be fantastic!”

“Well,” Yamaguchi began, “We don’t know what condition Yachi will be in when we meet up at the inn. I’m a healer, and I know the herbs that we can use to treat any sickness that she may develop.”

Tsukishima nodded. “I’m going with him. We can meet you at the inn.”

Yamaguchi looked sheepish. “Well, actually, the herbs usually grow in small caves. And you aren’t very small. I was thinking that the best person to take with me would be Hinata.”

Both Kiyoko and Tsukishima subtly recoiled.

“Are you sure, Yamaguchi?” Suga asked.

Tsukishima sneered, as if the notion of Yamaguchi not understanding was laughable.“Anything for Kiyoko-nee!”

“Well, if you two can take care of yourself, then Tsukishima, Kiyoko, and I will head back to the inn.”

“Yes. It could take a while, and it would be better for the two of us to meet with you at the inn. That is, we can if Hinata doesn’t mind.”

Hinata nodded. “Sure! If you think it will help... Yachi?”

Kiyoko’s lips curled into something reminiscent of a smile. “Thank you, Hinata.”

Hinata winked. “We’ll see you there then, Suga.”

 

* * *

 

“If you keep squirming, I’m going to lose you and you’ll probably drown.”

The girl in Daichi’s arms tried to calm down, which was hard all things considered. The current still rushed around them, but Daichi was still floating. He had looped his arms around the girl’s arms, pulling them to her side, and arched his back up. They were floating, but with all of the squirming that she’d done, Daichi had swallowed quite a few mouthfuls of water.

After a few minutes, they reached calmer waters. Daichi managed to swim over to a bank, and managed to pull both of them onto dry land.

Almost as soon as they were out of the water, the blonde passed out. Daichi didn’t blame her, but they needed to keep moving to get to the inn soon. Both of them were soaked from head to toe, but if they kept walking he’d probably be able to dry off a little bit, and they would probably make it to the inn before nightfall.

Daichi pushed himself up off the ground, and barely managed to stagger over to a tree. He put his back to it and slowly slid down, landing in a sitting position. He sighed and leaned his head up against the tree. Before he knew it, is mind had already slipped into the realm of dreams.

 

* * *

 

Yachi woke up with a lot of dirt in her hair. A lot. She had kept it long, even when she started going with Kiyoko, and she’d been thinking about trying a new style, but this was the push. She opened her eyes, which felt like they’d been glued shut, and looked around her. She barely had the energy to move, almost unable to turn on to her side and examine her surroundings.

She thought back to what Kiyoko had taught her about how to react if something like this happened. Look for anything out of place, look for any way to escape if someone were to attack you, and figure out how you got here. She knew she was out of place, as well as the strange young man who was unconscious against a tree. She couldn’t climb trees, so that was out of the question, and she couldn’t swim either, so the river couldn’t be useful either. The sky was dark, but the question was if it were going to get darker or brighter. She hoped it was dawn, because she honestly didn’t want to trek through the dark, kind of scary woods.

Her eyes glided back over to the brunette against the tree. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to remember just what had happened before she passed out. She had been gathering water with Kiyoko, when the orange-haired boy - Hinata, she thought his name was - came rushing out of the woods. Surprised, she had stepped back, and the unstable ground fell out from beneath her. She had fallen in, and the unconscious, unknown boy had dived in after her and saved her. It was a simple explanation, but now the two were lost in the woods. At least to Yachi, everything in these woods looked exactly the same. They could always follow the river back, but how would they be able to tell when they could get back to the road? How would they even know which way to go?

Yachi could feel her breaths getting faster and her heart racing. She finally pushed herself into a sitting position and began to calm herself down. It’s okay, she told herself. He seems strong. He can probably find his way straight out of the woods.

She tried to take in more details about this mysterious boy to distract herself. He looked to be about the same age as Kiyoko, maybe a little older. He was wearing what looked to be an undershirt, and he didn’t even have a weapon. Kiyoko had been teaching her to defend herself, but it didn’t look like she’d be able to do much against him anyways. He was ripped, and Yachi could see his (impressive) six pack.

Yachi decided to wake him up, thinking that he couldn’t be a horrible person if he’d given up his sword and jumped into a river to save her.

She tapped his shoulder, and he shot up almost instantly.

“Prince!” He sounded worried, and he looked around quickly. He shot up and into a fighting stance with admirable speed, and glared at her. He reached for his sword, surprised to see that it wasn’t there.

Yachi stood there, trembling with cold and fear for a few seconds, until the recognition registered on his face.

“I’m really sorry, miss. I forgot what had happened. Are you alright?”

Yachi couldn’t find any words, so she nodded. His eyes were as dark as his hair, and they were kind. Against what Kiyoko told her, she decided to trust him. “M-my name is Yachi.”

The taller boy smiled warmly, and stuck out his hand. “My name is Daichi. It’s nice to meet you.”

She took the hand, and was surprised to find how warm it was. She leaned into the touch, taking comfort from it.

Daichi gave a nod to the trees, and started to walk. Yachi followed behind again, and before she’d even taken ten steps she tripped. Daichi reached out to steady her.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, smiling down at her. “We’ll get right back to my family’s inn. It looks like it’s getting dark though, so we’ll only go until then. It’ll be okay.”

Yachi nodded, but grabbed his hand. “O-okay then. Please don’t let me fall.”

Daichi laughed, and the sound was warm and welcoming, and she could feel herself relax. Daichi seemed trustworthy, and besides, it’s not like she had any other options.

 

 


	5. Probably the Longest Chapter in the Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gears are starting to connect, and the quest is both halted in its tracks and thrown forward into motion at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright in all honesty this is about a third of what we have written so far, but it's probably fine since we're actual weeks behind schedule. School has not been kind to us, and we're doing our best, but midterms are coming. Both of us have to put our educations first. But, that doesn't mean we aren't sorry for the wait.

    With all of the awkwardness in the air between Kiyoko and Tsukishima, Suga almost wished Daichi was still on top of him.

    Both of them looked to be natural introverts, used to having a companion that would fill the space with speaking. Unfortunately, Suga was a little tired from his unusual and eventful morning, and was tired of trying to appear social.

    So the three of them walked, off in search of the inn.

* * *

 

    Hinata and Yamaguchi managed to find the cave, and Hinata practically jumped inside it.

    “Hinata, you have to move more quietly or the whole cave could come down on top of us.”

    Hinata made a squeaking sound, before lightening his footsteps significantly, like a true assassin. “That sounds dangerous.”

    Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. This was going to be fun.

* * *

 

    “So,” Yachi began, after a few minutes of nothing but their breathing to fill the air. “Your name is Daichi.”

    Daichi chuckled softly at her nervousness. “Yes. My name is Daichi.”

    Yachi blushed. “Sorry-”

    Throwing up his hands, Daichi tried to make a comforting gesture. “You really don’t have to apologize. How much did you see on the riverbank?”

    “Um, I saw you, and there was the small kid with the orange hair, and a really pretty guy with silver hair.”

    Daichi blushed slightly. “Yeah, I guess he is. The pretty one is... Suga. I’m his bodyguard of sorts, and the two of are on a journey of sorts. The orange haired one-”

    “He knew Kiyoko! I mean, I think he did. I’m sorry to cut you off!”

    “Don’t worry about it. But his name is Hinata, and he was... he was an assassin.”

    Yachi felt herself freeze at the mention of the profession that caused the death of nearly everyone close to her.

    “-chi? Yachi? Are you okay? Was it something I said?” Daichi’s worried voice brought her back to the present.

    “Y-yes? I’m sorry. I... I guess I just blanked out for a second there. Sorry about that?” Yachi tried to stop her voice from shaking, but the tremors were still there.

    “You really don’t need to apologize quite so much.”

    “Sorry!”

    Daichi just shook his head. “Well, at any rate, you probably want to know where we’re going. I promise I’m not a creeper leading you into the woods to kill you.”

    Chuckling nervously, Yachi played along. “I’d sure hope not!”

    “I’m taking you to my mother’s inn. We can have some time to recover there, and get you taken care of.”

* * *

    Azumane Asahi was sure he would never get used to fitting into his small area in the barracks. Especially being in between the two most restless sleepers on the face of the earth. Now, being stuck in a small dungeon cell with the loudest, angriest ball of energy on the planet, he was sure that his death was soon.

    As soon as they had arrived, it was clear that Nishinoya would get the single cot in the cell. Even if there were a second one, it would be left unused, as Asahi had been much too big to even consider fitting.

    Right now, however, Asahi sat on the bed, watching his short friend pace back and forth, complaining about the state of the cell and talking himself through possible ways to get out of the dungeon.

    Most of it was unintelligible, but every once in awhile he could make out a coherent thought.

    “I’ve got it! I can stand on your shoulders and crawl out!” Nishinoya’s face brightened, and he flashed Asahi one of his blinding smiles.

    “Noya, for the fourth time, the bars are all electrified. We can’t do that.” Asahi sighed. While he admired Noya’s spirit, the only way that they were getting out of there was if their friends saved them. No, when their friends saved them.

    Nishinoya’s face fell once again, and he went back to mumbling. Asahi, on the other hand went back to trying to relax. He could feel the fear and dread building in his limbs, but he wanted to stave off the horrible feelings for as long as possible.

    When he started breathing more deeply, Noya stopped, sensing something more off than usual. “Asahi? Are you okay?”

    Asahi shrugged, trying to play it off. “I’m fine Noya. Go back to what you were doing.”

    Nishinoya shook his head. “Yeah, no, you’re not fine. Do you want to talk or do you want me to.”

    Asahi took another deep breath. “How about you go first.”

    Noya sat down cross legged, smiling up at Asahi. “Okay, great! So I’m sure I’ve told you some about where I grew up.”

    Asahi nodded yes. “You grew up in a bakery, right?”

    “Yup!” Noya looked away wistfully. “Have I told you much about my sister?”

    Asahi frowned slightly, because he didn’t remember. “I think you mentioned that you had one, but that’s all you’ve really said.”

    Noya nodded, taking the information in stride. “I didn’t think so. But she’s a lot younger than me. She’s pretty small, really thin and all that. She looks kind of like me, but her hair is longer.”

    Asahi could only imagine her. “Is she anything like you? Like, does she run all over and climb on everything she sees?”

    Noya’s face went dark, but the moment passed, before Asahi could say anything. “Nah, she’s a lot more sedated. She’s actually kind of quiet.”

“Oh.” Asahi decided not to push the subject. “What about the rest of your family?”

    “They’re fine. Just her, me, and my parents. I’ve mostly lost contact with them, though.”

    “Oh. Well then, where’d you go during that one week of leave?”

    “Tanaka’s sister’s inn. She’s pretty great. She’s like my other sister! Me and Ryuu have always been pretty close, so she sort of took me under her wing a bit when I first got here.”

    Asahi took in the information eagerly, earlier panic forgotten. It returned when he realized he should probably share some information about himself, but he didn’t want to interrupt Noya when he was being so forthcoming. Asahi didn’t know all that much about him, and was eager for any chance to learn.

    Noya picked up on his uneasiness, and once again tried to distract him. “Do you want to hear a story that Saeko-nee told me?”

    Asahi nodded.

    “So apparently Ryuu is the only one in the family with dragon powers, since their parents are gone, and for some reason the power only appears in guys. But, apparently, the women in the family have an even scarier power.”

    Cringing, Asahi replied, “I don’t know many things that are scarier than fire.”

    Nishinoya frowned, as if realizing that he’d just made things worse. “I’m sorry. I forgot about that.”

    Asahi played it off. “Don’t worry about it. What were you going to say?”

    Noya shivered. “I was going to say that she has some killer looks, not to mention reflexes for days. When I was ten, I tried to fight her thinking I could win because she was a girl. Before I got within ten feet of her, she charged and I was on the ground. Ryuu nearly pissed himself. Saeko let me go at her again, and like an idiot, I did, because that’s what idiots do, and before I could blink she had her foot an inch in front of my nuts. That’s scarier than anything that Ryuu could ever do.”

    Trying and failing miserably to contain his laughter, Asahi burst into a fit, wiping tears from his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting that, but coming from a Tanaka he couldn’t say that he was surprised.

    Noya brightened up too, knowing that Asahi was back to normal. “Asahi?”

    “Mmh?”

    “We can think up the escape plan together. I’ll stop pacing.”

    Grateful, Asahi smiled back, and nodded to the smaller boy. “Thank you. I’m sure we’ll think of something. We always do.”

    Noya smiled. “Now, let’s get to work."

* * *

    Yamaguchi found the herbs without looking too hard. They were leafy and green, but the stalks were tough. “Hinata, please pull them carefully. It’s the stems that we really need.”

    Hinata nodded and whipped out his knife, but he didn’t miss the way Yamaguchi flinched when he did that.

    Cocking his head to the side, Hinata spoke. “Are you okay?”

    “Y-yeah, I’m fine. You just surprised me a little.” Yamaguchi went to pick up the herbs, his hands shaking.

    The redhead narrowed his eyes, but he wasn’t a complete idiot. Yamaguchi was upset, but it clearly wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, and Hinata didn’t want to push the issue. “Okay...” he said, trying to pretend like that hadn’t just happened.

    “Let’s go back to the inn. The others are waiting.” Yamaguchi didn’t meet his eyes.

    Hinata nodded, even though Yamaguchi didn’t see it.

* * *

    Suga was tired and sore by the time they reached the inn once again. When he walked through the door, he was almost tackled by Tanaka.

    “Suga? What are you doing here? Where’s Daichi? Who’s this really pretty lady?”

    Holding up his hands in a placating gesture, Suga responded. “One question at a time! We’re back because we got split up and we’re meeting here. Daichi’s fine... At least, I think he is. And her name is Kiyoko.”

    Mrs. Azumane walked up to them, a worried expression on her face. “Your- No, Suga? Where is Daichi?”

    Suga looked away, ashamed. “I don’t know.”

    Pursing her lips, Mrs. Azumane took a deep breath. “Okay. You must be tired, please let me take you to your room. Tsukishima, the room that you and Yamaguchi had is unoccupied, and I have an open room for... Kiyoko was it?”

    Kiyoko nodded solemnly.

    Suga staggered into his room, and hated the feeling of emptiness that permeated it. His bed looked the same way it had been when he left it in the morning, and he didn’t know why that made him so sad.

Tsukishima and Kiyoko were both clearly tense as well from the loss of their respective partners, and he didn’t think that either of them would be getting any sleep tonight.

As for him, he was struggling. When he was in the palace, he’d slept alone in a large room with guards at his door, and yet already he was having trouble sleeping. Suga didn’t like sleeping alone.

* * *

    Later that night, Tsukishima felt a strange sense of peace come over him. Innately distrustful of this feeling, he pulled one of his knives out of a niche in his armor. Creeping near silently to the door, he was reaching for the doorknob when it opened. Tsukishima moved fluidly and quickly, and pressed his blade into the intruder’s throat.

    “Ts-Ts-Tsukki?”

    Shit.

    Tsukishima opened the door the rest of the way, and brought Yamaguchi inside, his hand resting on the small of his friend’s back. He was shaking slightly, and his eyes were wide.

    Tsukishima tossed the knife onto the previously open bed, and sat Yamaguchi down onto his own.

“Shh...” he said, rubbing circles lightly between Yamaguchi’s shoulder blades. “It’s alright, Yamaguchi. Everything is fine. There isn’t any danger. You’re safe, I’m safe, and everything is fine. There’s nothing that can hurt you, and everything’s gonna be okay. You’re safe, I promise.”

    The smaller boy wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Tsukishima’s chest. Tsukishima let Yamaguchi cling to him, and as he leaned back into his pillow, he continued to whisper words of comfort to him, pulling him down so that he was in a more comfortable, lounging position. This hadn’t happened in a while, he hadn’t been so careless in a long time, and usually Yamaguchi was fine when he had weapons. Some scars never fade.

    That meant though, that something had happened to unsettle him even before he got back to the inn.

Eventually, Yamaguchi’s breathing slowed and he shook just a little less. “Sorry, Tsukki,” he said, and Tsukishima knew that his face was red, even in the darkness.

    “Don’t,” the blond commanded.

    He felt Yamaguchi’s jaw drop on his stomach. “Tsukki -”

    “It was my fault. I should have been more careful. Just... go to sleep,” he said, looking away and blushing, even though Yamaguchi couldn’t tell. He walked over to his own bed, and slipped the knife back into it’s place, and he lay on top of it. After a while, he heard Yamaguchi’s breathing even out as he fell asleep, but he didn’t fall asleep himself for another hour.

* * *

 The darkness had set in a while ago, and Daichi and Yachi had stopped so that Yachi wouldn’t trip anymore.

    “Yachi, we’re around ten or so miles away from the inn.”

    The smaller blonde shook her head. “I really can continue, Mr. Daichi.”

    ‘Mr. Daichi’ sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Yachi, I really think we should rest for the night. The others will be fine, and I’m sure that Mom would want both of us to be okay when we get there, and that’s not going to happen if we end up falling and hurting ourselves.”

    Dachi’s voice was soothing, and Yachi allowed herself to sit, bracing herself against a tree trunk.

    Daichi sat down next her, and maybe it was because she was tired, or because she was cold, but she leaned into him. Since he didn’t have his armor, and was just wearing a shirt, she could feel the heat from his skin.

    “Daichi?”

    “Y-yeah?” He seemed to be a little flustered by how close she was. Yachi was too tired to care.

    “You’re warm.”

    Chuckling nervously, Daichi brushed it off. “You’re pretty warm yourself.”

    “Mmhm.” They sat in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. After a few minutes, Yachi spoke again. “Daichi, can you please tell me a bedtime story?”

    It was a bit of a strange request, and she knew that she was too old for bedtime stories, but Yachi wanted one anyways.

    “Um, alright. Well, do you want to hear about my childhood then?”

    “Sure.”

    Daichi seemed to lose focus, and he stared off into the distance. It was a little unsettling, until he spoke. “Well, my mom, who didn’t give birth to me but is still definitely my mom, has a few other kids. One of the ones that’s actually hers is Asahi, and he’s practically my brother. Asahi and I used to get in all kinds of trouble, because he would do risky things all the time. One time, he almost made Yosuke push him into a creek just so that he could say it happened.”

   Yachi waited for Daichi to continue, and when he didn’t, she was surprised, but didn’t say anything.

    He picked up again on his own. “Asahi used to be really loud and honestly a lot like Noya, one of my other friends. Something happened, though, and now he’s a lot quieter. He’s also a lot more shy, and he worries a lot more. Not that it was bad, it’s just different. I’m used to it though. He’s still Asahi and all that. Where was I going with this story?”

    Yachi shrugged, although leaning against him it was awkward.

    Daichi sighed. “Never mind. Just relax, and I’m sure you’ll be asleep in no time."

Daichi had expected Yachi to fall asleep, and within ten minutes her breathing had evened out to a more peaceful rhythm.

    He would have fallen asleep himself, but thoughts about his life before the Azumanes prevented that. He remembered his mother and his father, two of the kindest, best people on the planet probably.

    Why did the good always have to die young?

    His life had been fine up until his brother. His family ran a small clinic, across the street from his two best friends in the world. His life wasn’t hard, he went to school, he played in the woods, helped his parents when he was needed, and was a happy kid.

    Then his brother came. His mother had gotten pregnant with a second child, and finding out was the happiest moment of Daichi’s life. He was going to have a little brother!

    But when his brother came, everything had gone wrong.

    The day it happened, Daichi’s father wasn’t at home. He had been out, delivering medicine to those people too sick or elderly to leave their houses. The entire time was a blur, but Daichi could faintly remember his mother falling to her knees, yelling at Daichi to go find Dad. The boy ran out of the house through the streets, along his father’s regular delivery route. He found him walking out of the last house on the route.

    “Dad!” he had yelled, tears brimming his eyes. “It’s happening! Mom’s -”

    His father gasped, and the two ran back to the clinic.

    The sight inside was not a pleasant one. Unlike most days, where they would be greeted by the grinning housewife, they were greeted by not one, but two corpses. Even Daichi, only six at the time, knew what had happened.

    Things continued to get worse. Daichi’s father began to lose patients over the course of a year, until he had none left. The father and son had already been barely getting by, and paying for two funerals certainly didn’t help.

    His father succumbed to his own despair, and left Daichi nothing but debt. Daichi remembered the funeral, where someone he never met before told him that he was sorry. Daichi told him what he told everyone else. “My father is in a better place now, with my mother and brother, but thank you for your condolences.”

    The stranger had frowned. “I'm not sorry for him, dear, I'm  sorry for you. Your father was selfish, but he didn't know what he was doing. You were just collateral damage.”

    With no family to speak of, the Azumanes had been generous to take him in. Asahi was like a brother to him, in all of the ways that mattered. He was there for him every time he needed him, and when Asahi lost his own father, Daichi had been there in return.

    At least he hoped he'd been. Maybe that was how he developed his father-like complex.

    He would have kept reminiscing, but the same instincts that he used to protect Suga by extension protected him. After the earlier incident with Suga, he'd started paying a lot more attention to the sound of wagon wheels, and he was hearing them now.

    He silently crept away from Yachi and made his way over to the source of the noise. Moving silently through the underbrush, he managed to make it over to a clearing with a tree that he hid behind. He watched  the scene unfolding front of him with apprehension.

    “Hurry up, or we're never going to make it in time.”

    “Relax,” a second voice said. “The coronation isn't for a few weeks.”

    The two voices continued to bicker back and forth.

    “Didn’t I tell you? They moved it up two weeks. It’s less than a week away.”

    “Well that would have been nice to know.” The two didn’t show any time of stopping, so Daichi began to slowly move into a more comfortable position. He winced as he stepped on a branch as he lowered himself to a sitting position.

    “What was that?” one of the voices by the fire said. Daichi cringed and held himself as still as possible - a challenge in this situation.

    “We’re in the woods, Futakuchi. It’s probably just an animal.”

    “Then where’s the rest of the noise?”

    “Who cares? It’s not like someone’s spying on us or anything. ”

    The first voice sighed. “Oh well. It’s getting late. We should go to bed.”

    Daichi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as quietly as possible. He held himself in the same position for a moment, and as the fire went out, he lowered himself to the ground. After waiting a few minutes of silence, he stood up and walked back to his camp with Yachi.

    Yachi woke with a yawn some time later. Her head was resting on dried leaves, (which would be fun to get out of her hair later), and Daichi was sitting against a tree, holding a stick over what was left of some embers.

    “I made breakfast,” he said, offering up the fish on the stick. “I already ate, so don’t feel like you’re not leaving me anything.”

    “Uh... I’m good,” Yachi said. “Not exactly -” her stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting her, and she blushed in embarrassment.

    “You were saying?” Daichi said, holding the fish-kabob out a little further, eyebrows raised in a joking demeanor. “It’s the same kind as the one I ate. No assassination attempts here, I promise.”

    There was that word again. Yachi could feel the anxiety rising in her chest as she took the fish. She bit into it tenderly, and swallowed. The two sat in silence as the girl finished her meal.

    “Okay,” Daichi said as she put down the stick. “I don’t think that we’re too far away from the inn, so hopefully we won’t have to walk too far. I had trouble falling asleep last night, so I actually overheard an important conversation from a couple of people down the way, and I have some things I need to tell someone back there. Do you want to head out?”

    Yachi nodded quickly, standing up. The two didn’t speak for a few minutes.

    “Hey, how about you tell me about your family?” Daichi’s tone was pleasant and conversational.

    “What?” Yachi squeaked, caught off-guard by the surprisingly personal question.

    “Your family. I told you about mine. Don’t get too into detail if you don’t want to, but I would like to know a little bit more about you.” A pleasant smile stretched across his face, and for a moment he reminded her of her own father.

    “Uh... well... I had a small family. It was just my parents and I. We lived in a big house... but they... um, they got killed.”

    “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to -” Daichi’s smile morphed into a worried expression, and he reached out a hand to pat her shoulder.

    “It’s okay! Kiyoko found me, and she’s been taking care of me and helping me to learn to fight and stuff since then. I’m still not very good... And I’m kind of clumsy... but I’m learning!”

    Daichi nodded and smiled. “Are you now? I’m a bodyguard, and my charge already knows a little bit about swords. Do you use any weapons?”

    Yachi shook her head. “No, I use hand to hand combat.”

    Clearly impressed, Daichi jokingly brought himself into a fighting stance. “Do you want to show me what you’ve got?”

    Yachi stuck out her hands in a placating gesture. “N-No thanks! I’ll pass?”

    Daichi chuckled, then ruffled her hair affectionately. “It’s fine, I was just kidding.”

    Breathing a sigh of relief, Yachi thought to herself, “The last time someone got into a stance like that, they weren’t kidding.”

* * *

    The moment Suga woke up, he made himself and his room presentable as quickly as possible and shuffled downstairs onto the porch. Although it was still dark out, and kind of chilly, he refused to move until his bodyguard returned. As the sun began to rise, Mrs. Azumane came out and sat with the prince.

    “You really don’t need to worry about him,” she said, handing the boy a steaming mug of tea, and wrapping a blanket around his shoulders. “He’s a strong boy.”

    Suga sighed. “I know. It’s just... I don’t know where I’d be without him. He cares so much about everyone, and I feel like I take it for granted. He always knows what’s best, and makes sure it gets done, no matter how much I refuse. I’d still be in that castle if it weren’t for him. And then if I had listened, then maybe Nishinoya and -”

    “Don’t blame yourself. They’re strong too, and from what Tanaka’s told me, they volunteered to stay back. Just do me a favor, and help Daichi to remember it’s not his fault.” She smiled. “I need to go make sure the rest of breakfast doesn’t burn, but I’ll keep a plate for you in case you get hungry later on.”

    Suga smiled. “Thank you, Mrs. Azumane. I’ll keep that in mind.”

    Time passed, and Suga watched the sun rise as patrons entered and left the restaurant. None recognized him, thankfully, although he faintly remembered a few. There was no way to tell when he had finally seen the odd couple coming in the distance, both obviously tired and in need of a good nap.

    Suga stuck his head into the door and announced the two’s arrival, causing a flurry of motion as the group came out to greet them. Mrs. Azumane was easily the first to exit the building, meeting the two on the road to give both warm, welcoming hugs. Suga and Kiyoko took their respective partners aside once Mrs. Azumane was done fretting. As Kiyoko checked up on the little blond, Daichi ignored each of Suga’s questions in favor of his asking his own.

    “You made it back okay? No one got hurt? Did you get a good night’s sleep?”

    “Daichi, please,” Suga said, a joking smirk in his eyes. “You’re not my father. We took care of ourselves, I promise. It’s you that we should all be fretting over.”

    As Suga gave Daichi another hug, Hinata rushed Kiyoko and Yachi, amazed at his old friend’s new companion. He started barraging her with questions about who she was, where she was from, and how she'd met Kiyoko, without even giving the girl a chance to answer.

    Meanwhile, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi stood on the porch, quietly snickering over the strange reunion.

    “Why don’t you all come in?” Mrs. Azumane offered. “I made lunch, and I’m sure you’re all famished.”

    Lunch was amazing, as expected. Everyone that sat around the table gulped down firsts, seconds, and some, (Hinata), even inhaled thirds.

    As all nine people finished devouring their meals and cleaned up their plates, Daichi explained what he had heard.

    “They moved up Tobio’s coronation? But... why?” Suga’s eyebrows narrowed in concern, and Tsukishima and Yamaguchi both wore colder, more calculating faces.

    “They want full power to the monarch as soon as possible. Right now, since there is no king, the power is far too spread out among the court. Once there’s a king, however, that’s the single person in charge, and if they’re as young as your brother, the advisor, damn him,  is basically the one in charge.” Daichi looked off bitterly into the distance, his jaw working as he tried to calculate some sort of solution.

    “I knew I shouldn’t have left...” Suga trailed off, worry painted on his face, and Daichi turned back to him.

    “What could you have done? You’re not on the court, and it’s not like one vote would have changed anything.” Daichi tried to be nonchalant, and that was a mistake.

    “We need to get him out then.” Suga’s gaze went steely and hard, and something shifted in his posture. Suddenly, it was him commanding the room and not Daichi.

    “What? No. No way. That’ll -” Daichi was on the defensive now, trying to stop the Prince.

    “If there’s no king, then there’s no ultimate ruler. The kingdom’ll go to the court until we can take care of -”

    “Or he’ll just take the throne anyway. The only reason he hasn’t is because of your brother.” Daichi tried to nip this idea in the bud, before everything went sour. He didn’t want Suga back there, for any reason.

    “I’d rather he take over for a few weeks until this can blow over then leave him alone another day.” It was pretty clear that Suga was not going to give on this, and Daichi was starting to lose ground.

    “We can’t,” Daichi insisted.

    “If I’m understanding correctly,” Tsukishima chimed in, “If you take out Tobio, then you’ll expose how poor of a leader the advisor is. No one will want him around, and they’ll stage a rebellion, at which point you re-enter and take back the throne.”

    “Besides,” said Tanaka, “We need to get Asahi and Noya.”

    “And the coronation will be the perfect cover!” Suga was bouncing in his seat. “Some people can sneak in and grab Tobio, and those who don’t can grab Asahi and Noya! It’s the perfect plan!”

    Daichi shook his head, admitting defeat. “Alright, I understand where you all are coming from, and I’ll go along with it under one condition: the prince doesn’t come along.”

* * *

    “Hey, Asahi, it just occurred to me.”

    “What?” The two were lying on their backs, Asahi on the floor and Noya on the cot.

    “Do you have magic?” Noya couldn’t help but slip some hope into his question.

    “Why?” Asahi knew that he was treading on eggshells.

    “It just occurred to me that if Tanaka were here, he could just burn down the whole castle.”

    “I wouldn’t do that.” Asahi stamped out the small lick of fear that came with the mention of fire.

    “I know! Don’t worry, I’m not stupid. But...” he said, smiling. “Fire magic isn’t the only kind of magic. So do you have any at all?”

    “Yeah... It’s just a little telekinesis, though. Not a lot.”

    Noya sighed. “Darn. I don’t have any, so we’re basically useless.”

    “I mean, I might be able to do something,” Asahi added. “I don’t know for sure, but if I concentrated hard enough, I might be able to open the lock...”

    At that, Noya smiled a devilish grin. “Wanna try it out?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long story short the next update will come at some point in time, but we burned through most of what we had written already, and with the amount of time that both of us are working with, it's not looking like it will be soon. So sorry, and when its summer and we aren't in school, this whole process will be smoother and more regular. Thanks for sticking with us, and please comment if you liked it, (or even if you didn't), because part of the huge delay has been writer's block.   
> Also, quick note - three of the characters have PTSD, and get triggered within the chapter - Asahi for fire, Yamaguchi for weapons, and Yachi for assassins.


	6. Balls, Threats, and Trespassers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's late too  
> I think we've basically given up on having any sort of coherent update schedule  
> oops  
> ANYWAY midterms just ended so we're either going to have a lot more time to write (no more studying!) or a lot less (everything's gonna get harder)

“Stay safe. If something goes wrong, get out of there as quickly as possible.”

“I know, Prince. It’s gonna be okay. I’m not the one you should be worrying about.”

“I’m still gonna worry. It’s your own fault for making me stay here, anyway.”

Daichi laughed and shook his head. “I guess you’re right.” He smiled softly at Suga in an attempt to comfort the worrying prince.

Suga smiled back, despite the feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Just... stay safe. Even if you can’t get him, make sure to let him know I didn’t want to leave him.”

“You’re talking to the wrong person, Prince. Don’t worry, though. I’m sure that he knows that you wanted to stay.” 

Suga grabbed onto Daichi’s hand, thinking of his own escape from the castle. It was only a week ago, but it felt like a year. He didn’t even realize what he was doing until Daichi commented on it.

“Prince? Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s fine. Just don’t get hurt and then everything will be wonderful.” Suga fought to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but he could tell that some of it slipped out anyways. 

Daichi only nodded. He had his orders, and it was time to move out. He took the others with him and left, leaving Suga alone with his thoughts.

The silver haired prince let his mind wander to the planning that they’d done last night. It was agreed that everyone would go except Suga, who was far too likely to be recognized. Daichi and Tanaka would enter the castle and break into the dungeons to free Asahi and Noya. Tsukishima and Kiyoko would pose as a young noble couple, and Yachi would pose as his younger sister, married to Yamaguchi. Hinata would be going in as Tsukishima and Kiyoko’s adopted son. Then, Hinata would sneak off to help get Kageyama out of the castle, while Yachi and Yamaguchi caused some sort of distraction.

The plan wasn’t exactly the most detailed, but it was what they had to work with under the amount of time and pressure they had.

“Suga, dear,” Mrs. Azumane said. “Why don’t you come inside? It’s getting chilly now, and we really don’t want you catching a cold. I’ll make hot chocolate.”

Reluctantly, Suga agreed. “Could you teach me how to do that?”

She smiled. “Sure, just come on in.”

* * *

 

Daichi and Tanaka walked tried to walk discreetly through the halls of the castle. They had deliberately worn light armor, and were dresses for stealth. Everyone was busy preparing for the dance that night, so Daichi figured that all of the other guards must have been pulled to fill whatever duties needed filling.

They’d come in through the back entrance, and for the last twenty nerve-wracking minutes, they’d gone unseen. Tanaka almost slipped up and called out to one of the guard members on break,  but Daichi managed to drag him back out of sight before the guard in question noticed anything. 

Yes, the two of them had gone undercover, unnoticed by anyone, until they ran smack into two people.

Those two people were Noya and Asahi.

Noya’s face lit up like a little child on Christmas, and Asahi looked so relieved that he seemed to melt right there. Noya jumped into Tanaka’s arms for the most passionate bro-hug that Daichi had ever witnessed, and Daich himself reached over to clap Asahi on the back. 

Not even a single word was exchanged as the four of them immediately turned back, and started moving as quickly as possible. Everything was proceeding smoothly, and everything went as planned, until one of the guards walked out of the break room, and stepped right in front of the four friends. 

“Tanaka? Daichi? I thought I saw you earlier.” 

Tanaka was the first to unfreeze. “Ennoshita?”

* * *

 

The whole function was going about as well as it could for Kageyama Tobio. Everyone knew that he was going to be king, so the actual crown was really just a formality, but then again, their current government was composed almost entirely of the damn stuff.

He took his oaths, felt the weight of the crown on his head, and sat down at his place while other important figureheads gave speeches that he wasn’t particularly interested in and would never remember.

After the pointless ceremony, he stood in the receiving line, with the advisor and his most trusted guard. The congratulations continued, and seemed endless.

Kageyama was absent internally, though. He had barely slept the night before, and he’d been barely able to eat for all of the time leading up to the event. The bags under his eyes were starting to become more prominent, and he was about six seconds from falling asleep where he stood.

Thankfully, the advisor’s guard knew him well enough to know that he was at his breaking point. 

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I know that everyone wants to congratulate his majesty, but he isn’t looking too good right now, and he really ought to get some rest. Maybe if he’s feeling better, he’ll come back out afterwards.”

Some of the people just nodded grudgingly, while others smiled sympathetically. Kageyama was rushed to a guest room not too far from the hall, and gently seated on the bed. The guard returned a minute later with a glass of water and some crackers. 

“Your majesty? Stay with me for one minute. There’s some water and crackers, yes I only grabbed your favorite kind. Just rest here for a little, and despite what I said I won’t wake you unless the castle catches on fire.”

Kageyama nodded, before patting the guard on the shoulder as a means of thanks.

The guard smiled, looking like a satisfied parent. “You’re welcome, your majesty.”

Kageyama was out before he heard the sound of a lock clicking into place.

Kageyama also wasn’t awake to hear the sound of that same lock clicking open, and the slight creak of the door as the intruder snuck in, or the sound of the door shutting behind them. 

He didn’t feel anything either, until there was a hand clapped over his mouth, and an ice cold blade pressed to his throat. 

He was instantly awake and ready to scream, (or, try to scream), but the intruder’s deadly and quiet whisper in his ear silenced him right away.

“If you try to scream, I’ll slit your throat here and now. Blink once if you understand.”

Kageyama did not, in fact, understand, but he figured his best bet was to blink, and try to go with what the person said. 

“Good. Blink if you’re Kageyama Tobio, newly crowned king of Catentia”

Kageyama blinked again. The voice sounded high and scratchy, and he figured that it probably belonged to a teenage girl. It was also muffled, as though the person had something in their mouth.

“This is the last one. If I take the knife away, do you promise to listen to what I have to say? Without summoning guards or trying to kill me yourself? Do you swear it you your title and your life?”

Kageyama blinked, adrenaline pumping through him. He felt the pressure of the knife on his throat disappear, and he took a deep breath. His (captor? attacker? benefactor?) shifted in front of him, and Kageyama was taken aback. 

It wasn’t a teenage girl, but what seemed to be a small boy, and his hair was a bright flaming orange. Judging from the attire, (a couple of years out of fashion and clearly a hand me down), and the crumbs all over the kid’s face, (from his crackers. Goddammit, he’d been looking forward to eating those), he wasn’t upper class, and he wondered how the guards didn’t catch him earlier. 

Kageyama didn’t know quite how to respond to this boy, for a couple of reasons. First of all, why break in on the guy who so clearly needs a nap? And then take his crackers? Also, how do you talk with someone when you literally can’t speak?

He knew that it’d probably be futile, but he signed out, “You do know I can’t talk, and probably couldn’t scream if I wanted to, right?”

To his surprise, the smaller boy’s eyes lit up, and his small hands signed back, “Oh! Why didn’t you say so?”

Kageyama narrowed his eyes. “Was that some kind of joke?”

Realizing what he’d done, Hinata frantically signed out an apology. 

It was nice to not need a translator when talking to someone. “Why are you even here? You’re clearly no royalty.”

The boy cocked his head to the side. “I’m here because Suga sent me. We’re here to rescue you. All you have to do is come with me and not blow my cover. My name’s Hinata by the way, and I already know yours.”

A look of confusion flashed across the King’s features. “How do you expect to get me out of here when I’m the literal king?”

“Just trust me, we have everything under control.” He smiled at Kageyama, and it reminded him of the sun. His name really was fitting.

“Hey, Tobio-chan?”

There was a soft click as the door, which Hinata had forgotten to lock again opened, and none other than Oikawa Tooru, royal advisor to the king, walked into the room. Everything froze, and then snapped back in slow motion. Hinata sprung to his feet and tried to jump out the window, Kageyama tried to stand up, but his legs tangled in the blanket and he fell, and Oikawa charged at Hinata, expression morphing from confusion to fury.

Oikawa caught Hinata, picking him up by his collar, and dragged him roughly off of the bed. Kageyama, on the floor, tried to sign out that everything was fine. He was probably going to get a bruise on his elbow, but other than that, he would be fine. Hinata, however was starting to choke, and Oikawa dragged him out the door, taking him to the ballroom. 

Rushing out after them, Kageyama watched as Oikawa dragged Hinata up to the stage. 

Practically fuming, Oikawa held up Hinata and the entire crowd slowly dragged all conversation to a screeching halt. The only noise was Hinata squirming, and the occasional gasp or whisper from someone in the crowd. 

“THIS CHILD IS A TRESPASSER, AND TRESPASSERS WILL BE PUNISHED. I WILL ARREST ALL OF THEM, AND TOMORROW THEY WILL HANG. NO ONE SHALL TRY TO HURT THE NEW KING.” Oikawa was truly terrifying, and for a moment, it looked like he was going to continue his speech, but Hinata managed to slip around, and kick Oikawa at the backs of his knees. Whether or not he knew about Oikawa’s bad knee, the blow was incredibly effective, and Hinata managed to pull himself from Oikawa’s grasp. The royal advisor was howling, and immediately Iwaizumi rushed to his side. 

Hinata sprinted through the hall, everyone else too stunned to stop him, but as he was leaving, Kageyama saw him sign out a sloppy, “We’ll come back for you.”

He watched a tall blond man and shorter dark haired woman follow him. After the doors had shut behind them, the magic that seemed to bind everyone in place snapped, and everything fell into motion again.

Oikawa was pulling himself up, and Iwaizumi was doing his best to assist him. People all around him were murmuring, and most were in various stages of panic. Kageyama started to feel overwhelmed, so he ducked his head and tried to get back to his room as quickly as possible. Thankfully, no one stopped him, and he was able to go back to the bed and sit down. He tried to sleep, but his mind was racing, and all that he could think about was Hinata, the stunt he pulled, and his promise to come back for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh yeah so Kageyama is mute and autistic in this au and stuff and wow maybe I should just let Syd write these notes


End file.
